chasing late invoices

[Spazz]

Out of interest what way has everyone found is the best way to chance late invoices?

I have tried phoning them, sending letters, sending emails, texting and I always get a not so good reply from the customer which results in them not using me anymore.
These invoices I usually chance are between 2 weeks and 2 months late.

Any ideas would be great, also for those using letters can you attach the letter you use that you find gives the best result.


Thanks all in advance

 

[Marvo]

The problem with getting paid late is that it costs you money and makes running your business difficult with erratic cash flow. Late payers can sink a small business.

In the short term you have every right to press them for overdue amounts and they have no right to be offended by your attempts to collect!! Every time you pursue them you need to get a firm commitment from them as to when and how much they're going to pay. Don't end your contact with them until they give you a firm commitment. Remind them a day before the date they've promised and even again on the actual day. If they fail to make good on their promise then contact them again and get a new firm commitment whilst letting them know how much financial trouble you're suffering due to them letting you down.

In the longer term maybe you should look at adding 5 or 10% to your future quotes and offering them that same percentage as a prompt settlement discount. It will ensure your invoices are at the top of their pile and at least that way it's not costing you so much if they still drag their feet.

 

[DurhamSparky]

your a business not a charity!!!! what would you do if you never paid your elecy bill...!! end of story!!

thomas higgins !!!! im about to issue 2 in the next 5 minutes!! i dont care about repeat business from crap customers!!

 

[Spazz]

Exactly - now they are claiming I paid them twice - no proof - so handling this at arms length!
£100 worth of PAT Testing

 

[Geordie Spark]

your a business not a charity!!!! what would you do if you never paid your elecy bill...!! end of story!!

thomas higgins !!!! im about to issue 2 in the next 5 minutes!! i dont care about repeat business from crap customers!!

It's the Geordie way innit !!!

 

[Hiddo]

I tell my customers that payment is to be made on completion.

I have a few (Select Few) customers that I allow extended payment terms.

A landlord I started working for tried it on by dragging his heels with payment. So I just told him next time he rang to get the yellow pages out and find someone else!! He now pays within 2 days and drives to my house with the money.

If people take umbrage at the fact you want paying then you should refuse the work. Most people just need managing properly and once you've done that they will pay.

 

[DurhamSparky]

too bloody right!! i am lucky to get excellent repeat customers and also new customers!! people who haggle and twist can eff... off..! plenty of "desperate" sparks out there to take that end of the market!

 

[Spazz]

I know the feeling - I am new and need the work.

I have nothing booked in now till September and really not a clue on what to do to get work in - so I tend to take all the s*** jobs.
Its like Im doing PAT Testing on 22 items in September then again the year after, also got a new build off him in September and an EICR on existing 2 properties so I dont mind - just role on September!

I just had one - see other post about RCD and shaver point, but thats a days worth of work and if its an easy job then thats only £30 in my pocket - any ideas what else I can try to get work in and these non payers can disappear!

The non payers are always agents - got £400 outstanding now with them in total!

 

[Geordie Spark]

I know the feeling - I am new and need the work.

I have nothing booked in now till September and really not a clue on what to do to get work in - so I tend to take all the s*** jobs.
Its like Im doing PAT Testing on 22 items in September then again the year after, also got a new build off him in September and an EICR on existing 2 properties so I dont mind - just role on September!

I just had one - see other post about RCD and shaver point, but thats a days worth of work and if its an easy job then thats only £30 in my pocket - any ideas what else I can try to get work in and these non payers can disappear!

The non payers are always agents - got £400 outstanding now with them in total!

The first trick you need to learn is to ALWAYS start the way you mean to go on. It isn't the easiest trick to master, but it's easier than trying to make changes later on.

The next trick is ALWAYS make sure that all of your eggs are not in the same basket - again not an easy one to pull off, but it's what you need to aim for.

In my early days, I was turning-over £12k per month, but £7k of that was from one customer. It was a scary position to be in and I was very relieved when I was able to increase by customer base so that that one customer didn't have such a significant hold (for a hold is what it was) on me.

 

[Spazz]

Thanks for that Geordie.

I am in the situation where my only customer (using me regular) is this one who pays mainly on-time but 1 out of 5 invoices are delayed by 1-2 months. First Month brought in £3,000 off them alone - now its gone down to below £500 every month!

Considering they have over 100 properties they manage something is not right - things must go wrong more often than they are!

My problem is I am putting to many eggs in 1 basket!
Electrical, Basic Plumbing, Gutter Protection, gardening, cleaning (my partners side), window cleaning, need I go on - none are bringing work in

I am considering using owens Property Development as the mother company but then having Owen Electrical as the electrical side - just incase I am scaring people off with having to many eggs in 1 basket

 

[trev]

To be honest most of these have just forgotten or misplaced the invoice,

My backside. Come on mate that's the oldest one in the book 2nd oldest is the cheque was posted 10 minutes ago. There is a type of customer who thinks it's perfectly acceptable to not pay the guy working in their property for as long as possible and that the contractor should be grateful for the work and the eventual payment when they can be bothered.
There's who got a knock on the door for £50 that she owed me for work on a student flat in Newcastle. She had the gall to ring me to complain, because I knew the debt collector had been paid I told her never to ring me again under any circumstances.
You do a good job you deserve to get paid when you say not when they can be bothered

 

[Spazz]

The reason I said that was 4/5 times they pay me within 1hr of having the invoice, just the odd one here and there it takes months. Theres 2 of them in the office - 1 is really good, other is slow.

I think they might have another spark to be honest as I have had 1 job in last month - dont believe nothing has gone wrong in 1 month (after seeing the state of some of these electrical systems)

I issued a EDN for no bonding 2 months ago and they still not asked me to sort it, so not sure whats happening there.


It might be time to move on Im thinking but we will see.

 

[Dale200bhp]

Depends what sort of character you are but I tend to go round there house and get hold of them if I have to, I always get paid then!
Sometime you just have to get nasty, onebody in the construction industry made monet through being nice.

 

[Rockingit]

I am considering using owens Property Development as the mother company but then having Owen Electrical as the electrical side - just incase I am scaring people off with having to many eggs in 1 basket

As you wish, but it still won't make getting invoices paid on time any easier!!

 

[Spazz]

I was thinking of doing it on an advertising basis only. I was thinking that having electrical in the name or electrician it would be easier to search on google, more customers less need to rely on these agents for work when payments are slow.

The problem I have is if you search Electrician Pembrokeshire on Google I don't come up on the first 10 pages (gave up after that), on the map Im a little dot - nothing bigger, yell - Im top of the free listings (top on the mobile app)

I have a few joe public customers now and they all pay before I leave. Most of these companies around here expect credit and credit is not one I can afford especially when I have to pay for parts on purchase (poor credit rating)

 

[Guest111]

If you can afford to let people pay when they feel like then you can,t be that short of money,sorry to sound harsh but at the end of the day you lay out for materials and fuel to get to the job and then they walk all over you.Ok you,re new to the game and say you are frightened these "customers" will go elsewhere, well have you not thought that maybe they,ve been elsewhere already?you can only shaft so many people before you get a bad rep maybe everyone else knows they are bad payers and nobody else will do the work so to them you,re the only mug left tell them you want payment on completion of job in future, if you want to work for nothing then there is loads of work out there.Problem is you are supposed to be running a business not a charity.